He took ill again a few days later, although not as sick as he had been before for he still showed up to class but he looked a bit ragged and he was more languid than usual. Instead of his usual hands-on teaching style he had us read a chapter in our books and then practice a few incantations. I didn't mind that though - I was more preoccupied with what might be wrong with him.

The class began to fill out and I felt Ashley step in beside me. "You coming?" I nodded and held my book to my chest, "in a minute. I just want to ask him about today's lesson."

She smirked at me, "uh huh. I'm sure that's all you're wanting from him."

I reached out and playfully hit her with my book, "oh, shove off... I'll see you in a bit."

She waved goodbye before stepping out of the door and I approached his desk. "Professor?" He looked up at me and gave me a weak smile, causing me to frown. "Are you alright? You seem a bit... off, again."

"I'm fine."

"Right, but that's what you said last time and then I didn't see you for four days."

He stood up and walked around before stepping in front of me. "Hannah... I'm fine. Really. You don't need to worry about me."

I reached out and poked a finger into his chest, "and if I already am?"

He smiled and looked passed me towards the door before leaning in and giving me a quick kiss on the lips. "Then try not to."

"...okay." My pen slipped out of my hand and as I bent down to get it I saw into his wastebasket and noticed the same vial that I had previously given him for Snape. I'd forgotten all about that.

I lifted my head back up and realized something. "You know..." I reached my hand up and delicately touched his thigh as my eyes wandered over his most private area, "I am at the perfect height for something." I felt his leg twitch beneath my hand. "If that door weren't open..."

"Hannah?"

I yanked my hand away from Lupin and turned towards the door. "Harry."

He stepped through and gave me a confused face. "What are you doing?"

"Oh um..." I finally picked up my pen and stood back up, straightening myself out. "Just dropped this." I waved my hand to corroborate my story.

He looked a bit like he maybe didn't believe me but I ignored it in an attempt to distract him. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing. I was just walking by and saw you there."

I fidgeted in my place, "oh, well... let's go to dinner, shall we?" I turned around and smiled at Remus before stepping forward and grabbing Harry's hand with my own, pulling him out the door.

I looked up at the faculty table and saw him quietly chatting with Professor Flitwick. My eyes rolled over to Snape and I saw him staring intently at him. "Why do you think he hates him so much?"

"What?"

I turned my head and looked at Ashley. "Snape. Why do you think he hates Professor Lupin?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe he was mean to him in school?"

I pursed my lips and thought for a moment, "I dunno. He doesn't really strike me at the mean type." I smiled, "but he was friends with my father. And I've been told him and Snape didn't exactly get along."

"So you think he hates him by association. After all this time?"

"Sounds probable to me. I don't really think he's the forgiving type." I picked up my cup of tea and took a sip. "And I'm sure it doesn't exactly help that Professor Dumbledore asked him to be the Defense teacher instead of him. Dislike and jealousy don't exactly mix well."

I breathed deeply and looked back at the table, remembering once again about the vial that I'd seen in his classroom. Making up my mind I got up from my seat and moved next to Harry. "I need your help."

He pushed his food around on his plate, "With what?"

I leaned in and whispered, "I need you to distract Snape for me."

"What? Why?"

I shook my head, "well, the thing is, I can't exactly tell you why."

He furrowed his brows, "why would I want to help you when you can't even give me a reason to?"

I stared at him. He did have a point. "Well, because... because I'm your sister. That's why."

"Fine."

I grinned, "excellent! Thank you. Meet me in the common room at nine thirty, okay?"

I paced back and forth in front of the fireplace. He was late and I was eager to get on with it. I knew that making it into Snape's office wasn't going to be easy and I was starting to lose my nerve.

A part of me thought that this was something I shouldn't be doing. If Remus wasn't wanting to tell me what it was he was taking or why he was taking it, or why exactly he kept getting sick then perhaps he had a good reason for it. I shouldn't be prying into things like this... maybe. But I really felt like I should know. Whatever it was.

I heard footsteps come down the stairs and watched as Harry emerged. "There you are. Come on, let's go."

I quickly walked towards the portrait and heard him follow in pursuit. "So tell me again what you need me to do?"

I placed my hand on the rail as I quickly jogged down the stairs. "I just need you to figure out how to keep him busy while I search his office."

"What? You want to sneak into his office?"

"Yes."

"Why on earth would you want to do that?"

"Because I need something from there, Harry."

"You need something from Snape's office?"

I stopped walking and whipped my head back at him. I opened my mouth and just about yelled at him for asking so many questions but luckily before I'd said anything I realized how idiotic that was. After all, I'd never asked anything like this of him before so it was only natural of him to wonder what had gotten into me.

I took a deep breath, "yes. I just need a few minutes to look around his office. And I'm really sorry Harry, but right now, I just can't tell you why. You just have to trust me, alright?"

He nodded his head, "Right. I mean, I've got to, don't I? You've done a lot for me, I guess it's the least I can do for you."

I smiled and pulled him in for a hug, "I appreciate this... now come on, we're almost there."

As we reached his office I stopped, pushing Harry in front of me. "Go!"

He looked back at me for a moment, unsure, before he stepped forward and knocked on the door frame. "Professor?"

I moved a bit closer and crouched down, trying to make out what they were saying, but I couldn't. Regardless, I watched intently as Snape emerged from his office and was led down the hall. Nicely done, Harry.

I got up and slid through the door, pushing it mostly closed behind me. I looked around the room and saw that there were multiple vials of numerous potions and ingredients displayed on all of the shelves. Fantastic. This should only take forever. "Now if I were a potion for Lupin, where would I be?"

My eyes scanned the shelves at the back of the room and I realized that none of them looked like what I had handed to Remus. I made quick work of the rest of the room, hoping that in my hurry I hadn't actually missed it.

I crossed my arms over my chest when I realized that nothing looked right and I was about to turn around and leave when I noticed that I hadn't looked in the cabinet placed behind his desk.

I tried to open it but it was locked. I grabbed my wand from my back pocket and pointed towards it, "alohomora." The lock turned and the door popped open, revealing it's contents. My eyes were immediately drawn to a medium-sized, glass container. I wasn't positive, but what was inside looked to be the same thing that I had seen in Lupin's office.

I grabbed the container and turned it around in my hands, hoping to find a label, but there was none. I sighed and placed it back onto the shelf when I noticed a piece of paper, face down. The jug had been placed on top it of.

I picked it up and flipped the sheet over. "Instructions for brewing wolfsbane?"

I heard what sounded like Snape's angry footsteps coming down the hall and I quickly placed the piece of paper back into the cabinet before locking it again and running towards the door. It took everything not to scream at the shock of the door almost smacking me in the face when it was roughly pushed open. Snape stormed into his office, heading towards his desk and I took my chance while his back was turned and hurridly tip-toed out of the room.

I found Harry waiting for me at the end of the hall. "Get what you need?"

"Um, I'm not quite sure yet."

He said nothing but seemed to accept that I wasn't wanting to talk to him about it - at least not right now, anyways. "Okay. Wanna go back to the common room?"

"I think I'm actually gonna head to the library. I've got some reading I need to do."

"Okay. Just don't stay out there too late, okay? You know Dumbledore isn't keen on us being alone at night."

"I know. Thanks for your help, Harry."

I opened the book I had just pulled from the shelf and flipped to the back pages, searching the index for wolfsbane. Page 327. I turned to it and ran my finger down the page until I found it. Ah, wolfsbane. Relieves, but does not cure, the symptoms of lycanthropy. Lycanthropy? Why is Snape making a potion for lycanthropy?

The potion does not cure lycanthropy but eases the symptoms, allowing one to hold on to their mental faculties after transformation.

Could this be the same potion that Snape had had me bring to Remus? And the same one that I had seen in his office just earlier in the day? I tried to think of the date, and how long it had been since the last time Professor Lupin had fallen ill. I recalled that there had also been a few days in September when he seemed like he might not be feeling well, meaning that since the school year had started, he had gotten sick a total of three times. Three, being the same number of full moons that occurred since he had started teaching here.

If I could have confirmation that this is what he had been taking, then I knew it had to be true. Remus Lupin was a werewolf.

When I came to that realization so many thoughts came to mind and I found myself unsure of how I was feeling. If he was a werewolf then that must mean he's dangerous, right? Although, if Dumbledore thought well enough of him to bring him to Hogwarts then I had a feeling he wasn't as dangerous as my teachings of werewolves had previously taught me. After all, if he really was taking this potion then it meant that he retained his humanity when he was transformed.

I knew then why he hadn't wanted to say anything to me. How exactly do you start a relationship with someone and expect them to be okay with something like that? "Oh, by the way, I'm a werewolf, but let's still have sex, please," doesn't really sound like a line that had much chance of working.

I closed the book and sat back in my chair, breathing deeply. This is definitely something that I have to talk to Remus about... but what if he tells me that he is? Is that something I'm okay with?

I groaned and shut my eyes before deciding that I needed to see him right away. This wasn't something I could sit on.

I turned my hand into a fist and gently tapped on his door. "Professor?"

It was getting rather late and I thought that maybe he would already be in bed before I heard a noise from the inside. "Remus? Are you in there?" He mumbled something indiscernible and I waited for a moment longer before the door was pulled open in front of me.

"Hannah?"

I surveyed his body and found that he looked extremely tired. His hair was disheveled and his skin was a bit discoloured. I instinctively reached out and touched my hands to his arms. "Are you alright?"

I knew he wanted to protest but I forced my way past him. "Look, there's something I want to talk to you about, actually. Can I come in?"

He laughed and shut the door. "Well you are already inside."

"Right, listen, I..." I looked around the room and my eyes couldn't help but be drawn to the bed. Before I could stop myself my mind created extremely inappropriate images of Remus and I testing out the full extent of that mattress.

"You what?" He moved from his place by the door and sat down on a chair next to the fireplace that he had lit. I bit my lip before I took a few steps towards him. "I have a question for you."

"What is it?"

His breathing seemed laboured and I was a little frightened at the fact that I wanted to do nothing more than comfort him and make him better somehow. Shouldn't I not feel so strongly now that I think I've figured out what exactly his secret is?

I held out my hands, palms facing him in an awkward attempt to diffuse my own tension. "It has to do with why you've been sick lately. And why this isn't the first time since I've met you."

He stiffened and sat up straight in his chair, albeit with obvious effort on his part. He didn't say anything and I knew it was because this was a topic he was extremely uncomfortable with.

"Are you a werewolf?" It came out of my mouth in a far more blunt way than I'd intended for it to. I grimaced as he brought a hand up to his forehead, rubbing it.

I brushed my hair behind my ear and looked down at him. "Remus."

He ran his hand down his face and tentatively looked up at me, "Hannah, I..."

I swallowed, hard, "look, I know you didn't want me snooping and I'm sorry that I didn't let you tell me when you were ready or when you felt more comfortable with me but I can't help that now, and now I'm pretty sure I know what's been going on with you and I just wanted to come up here and ask."

"If you already knew then why did you need to ask me?"

I sat down on the edge of his bed and placed my hands in my lap. "I needed to hear you say it."

He got up from his place in his chair and approached the bed but instead of sitting beside me he took a seat closer to the headboard. "I am."

I bit my lip and turned my body to face him, placing one leg onto the mattress. "You are what?"

He slowly shook his head and looked down towards the floor. "I don't want -"

"Please, Remus."

He continued to not look at me as he finally answered my question. "A werewolf."

I don't know what I was expecting to feel when he told me but I knew that what I was wasn't it. I could tell by the look on his face that this was something he was deeply ashamed of and I instantly felt terrible for pressuring him to reveal something that was so hard for him to endure.

And then a thought occurred to me: my parents must have known. I mean, you can't go ten years being best friends with someone without knowing that they're a werewolf, it's just not possible. My whole life I've believed in them and their choices and convictions and if they knew about this and still stood by him then I thought that maybe I could too.

I brought both of my legs onto the bed and crawled towards him, reaching my hand up and running it through his hair. He leaned into my touch and looked towards me. I used my other hand, touching my fingertips to his scars. "Is that how you got these?"

He nodded and I leaned forward, kissing my lips to his forehead, his cheeks, and his mouth. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I moved from my place and slid into his lap, straddling him. "I shouldn't have pried." I wondered who had done this to him. It was evident by his body language that he had been holding this in for an extremely long time and I gathered that this was something he tried not to share with others. It felt wrong, robbing him the opportunity of telling me himself.

I felt his hands touch my lower back and I shivered at the feeling of his skin coasting just beneath the bottom of my shirt. "No, I should've told you before anything happened." He slid his hands further up my shirt and I let out a small moan. "It's alright, Remus."

I turned my head to the side, exposing my neck to him and he instantly latched on, knowing that was what I had intended. "You don't want to leave now that you know?"

I almost hadn't heard the question as he bit down on my neck, distracting me. "No, I don't want to leave, I want to stay." The feeling of him merely kissing me made it obvious to myself that I wouldn't even be able to leave if I tried, his effect on me already too great.

He pulled back from me and stared at me for a moment. I knew my reaction to finding out what he truly was seemed odd to him and hell, it seemed odd to me considering how conflicted I had been only thirty minutes before but as soon as he confessed to it my point of view along with any qualms had completely reverted. "I trust you."

I couldn't figure out what look he had on his face when I said those words but they must have meant far more to him than I had intended because he reached out and pulled me tight, smashing his lips to mine. The breath was taken from me and I struggled to take in air but the utterly aroused part of me really didn't care.

My eyes were closed and I touched my hands to his chest, fumbling with the buttons on his cardigan. Why did you have to do this up? He pushed my torso back and gripped the bottom of my shirt, lifting it up and tossing it to the floor. His hands skimmed my sides, causing a laugh to emerge from my mouth as he tickled me, before approaching my back, reaching for the clasp of my bra. He paused and looked at me, silently asking for permission. I bit my lip and gave a very slight nod and felt it come undone before he slowly slid the straps off of my shoulder, down my arms until it fell to the floor.

He stared and I felt myself growing nervous. It had been about nine months since the last time I had had sex and I was nervous that Remus wouldn't be pleased as easily as my last boyfriend.

His fingers touched my collarbone, floating over them before sliding them up my neck and gripping the bottom of my hair. His lips connects with my jaw , "you're so beautiful."

I smiled and resumed undoing the buttons and quickly rid him of his sweater before making equally fast work of his shirt. With his torso naked I could see the numerous scars that adorned his chest. "And these?"

His breathing was heavy, "before the wolfsbane when I would transform I wasn't myself anymore. I was kept locked up and couldn't hunt. I would do this to myself instead."

I furrowed my brows and frowned, thinking about how painful and utterly frightening that must have been for him, and to think about going through that once a month for the rest of your life...

I pushed him back onto the bed and he let out a small laugh as I pulled him away from his current thoughts. I ran my hands from his shoulders, down his chest and stopped at the top of his pants.

I kept my eyes locked with his as I slowly undid his belt, undoing the button and pulling down the zipper. I slid my fingers around the rim and pulled down, hard, the movement startling him. The effect our interaction was having on him was obvious as my eyes were drawn to his member which was currently attempting to escape his boxers.

I climbed back on top of him and slowly rubbed my hips against his, the feel of him against me causing an almost painful need for him to be inside of me. "Remus." I gasped as he held me tightly against him and rolled us over, forcing me beneath him. He sat up and hurridly got my pants off of me before discarding them somewhere on his floor and eyed my panties.

His hands slid up my thighs and I instinctively opened them wider, wanting him to come in. He let out a needy sound at my invitation and his palm cupped my most private area. "Oh, you're so wet."

A wave of heat rushed through me at his words and he pulled them off of me. He leaned forward, resting his weight on his elbows and kissed in between my breasts. I savoured the feeling as he created a trail with his mouth and stopped at the apex of my thighs. He looked at me and I sat up, grabbing his erection over the fabric. He groaned and his eyes shut tight at the feeling, "Hannah, I-"

He stopped talking as I squeezed, my pleasure mounting on course with his. "Please, I need you to fuck me."

He needed no further encouragement on my part as he rid himself from his boxers and I laid back down onto the mattress. He slowly crawled into place on top of me and I felt his tip connect with my entrance. I spread my legs further and ran the sides of my feet along his shins. My nails scratched along his back before I hesitated with my movements, wondering if due to his experiences he wouldn't take any pleasure from it but I found myself proven wrong as he leaned down on top of me and kissed my lips.

"I want you, Remus. Please."

He surprised me when he thrust into me hard and I felt him fill me completely. I moaned at the ecstasy of the feeling of him inside of me and the euphoria was almost too much.

The pace he set was fast, almost brutal and I could tell that he had wanted this as badly as I had. His room was now incredibly hot and I felt as if I were in a sauna when I felt the pressure deep within me mounting.

"I'm so close."

He pulled out of me and I whined, feeling incomplete before his strong arms grabbed mine and forced me onto my hands and knees, quickly pushing himself back into me. With each thrust he hit just-the-right-spot and I screamed when I came to my completion.

He roughly placed his hands on my hips to keep me still and with one last thrust he came. "Oh, God, Hannah."

Our breathing was ragged as we fell into each others arms and collapsed into the mattress with our heads on his pillows. I turned and looked into his eyes before touching my finger to his lips. I felt I should say something, something to reassure him that I wasn't going anywhere but instead, he wrapped his arms around me and held me close, content, and I allowed that same feeling to wash over me as I shut my eyes and drifted into sleep.